The Impression That I Get
by Shiro Ryuu
Summary: [FINISHED] Because we all know that Alfeegi just can’t say ‘no’ to the Dragon Lord, and Lykouleon is fresh out of romance novels. RuwalkxAlfeegi
1. Nothing to Read

**Explanation**: [sniffle] I was BOOTED! ...muttermutter... I had _**28**_ reviews on this!!! ...whinewhine... Okay, okay. So here I am, having to repost EVERYTHING. After some thought, I've decided to leave 'most everything unaltered - reason being, my laziness. [sweatdrop] This means the author's notes may be a tad weird, but oh well O.o;; I'm BAAAAAACK!!! XD  
  
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**Disclaimer**: This is your only warning. Dragon Knights belongs to Mineko Ohkami. And the Library from the Unseen University, blatantly reproduced below though minus the ape, belongs to Terry Pratchett. Self-destructing in five, four, three, two, one...  
  
**SR**: Yes, it's the Library; be afraid. :) And for those who don't have a clue what I'm talking about... Shame on you! Go pick up Soul Music now; I promise, you'll be laughing your ass off. Guards, Guards! is another of my favorites, though I'm not sure if it has as much about the Library in it... I could be wrong, of course; it's been a long time since I read it... Beware the 'm' word; bwuhahaha! [clears throat] Anyhoo, my first Alfeegi/Ruwalk ficcy... Enjoy!  
  
--==----==----==----==----==----==----==-- **Chapter One**: Nothing to Read --==----==----==----==----==----==----==--  
  
Lykouleon frowned lightly, skimming through the titles on his bookshelves. He was in search of the perfect read; a romance, yes; a particularly fluffy one, though it would be entertaining if the characters got off to a bad start, and of course it had to be most NC-17 rated by the end. Unfortunately, it didn't look like he had room to be quite so picky.  
  
His library was vast; oh yes. Huge. It expanded as far as the eye could see, and probably farther. There were most likely unknown species living in it. It contained books of every size, topic, and magical energy. Yes, magical energy; some contained so many spells that they could be said develop a sort of magic-induced life force; the worse ones had to be chained to the shelves. The maids refused to venture very far into it out of fear of these, and while Alfeegi hated it because of its lack of organization, he had yet to attempt to do anything about it.  
  
But the problem was, Lykouleon was old. As Rath liked to call him when he thought he wasn't listening, he was an 'old geezer,' despite the fact that he looked like he was only in his twenties. He had read almost every single book, even though being the Dragon Lord didn't always leave him that much spare time.  
  
He sighed, starting the long trek back and resigning himself to the fact the library was officially only useful as a key make-out spot and something for the villagers to threaten misbehaving children with, until the next book sale at least.  
  
Not as if he had nothing else to do, of course. Oh, that he could be so lucky. When he arrived at his office, he discovered a time bomb ticking away - a time bomb with teal hair and a stack of papers that came up to his chin, that is.  
  
Alfeegi scowled; Lykouleon resisted the urge to cringe away in fear. 'Dragon Lords do not cringe in fear... Dragon Lords do not cringe in fear...'  
  
"Where have you been?" the time bomb exploded. "I have thirty documents I need you to sign, and the Knights' latest progress report just arrived - they actually moved several miles BACKWARDS; Rune blames it on Thatz, who blames it on Rath, who blames it on Thatz; we won't be able to get the real story out of them until they get back, I'm sure - and Kai- stern sent ANOTHER questionable request for funds, along with HIS progress report, and there's also my monthly report, and Ruwalk's and Tetheus's, and- "  
  
Lord Lykouleon caved under the horrible onslaught, holding up his hands in surrender. "You're going to give yourself a heart attack," he said weakly, thinking, 'or at least you're going to give me one.' Alfeegi shot him a look that clearly said, 'we've been through this before, and I still firmly believe that the inhabitants of this castle will all die horrible deaths if I get more than four and a half hours of sleep.' Lykouleon simply sighed, sitting down at his desk for a long and grueling session of extreme boredom.  
  
After he signed the thirty-odd documents, such as the one allowing the cooks to continue cooking, and filled out thirty-odd more forms which Alfeegi hadn't gotten to yet in his ranting, such as the one ordering more forms, he finally got to Alfeegi's monthly report. The Lord raised a delicate eyebrow upon discovering how long it was in comparison to his other officers' reports; it was about five times as long as Kai-stern's, and Kai-stern was on a mission.  
  
"Alfeegi," he said tensely, flipping through the vast number of pages, "how long has it been since you've breathed fresh air?"  
  
Alfeegi frowned, the sarcasm going completely over his head. "That would be when I did the grounds check yesterday, your Highness; it's usually Tetheus's job, but I had some spare time."  
  
Lykouleon sweatdropped. "Do you have spare time... often?" he asked, feeling faint. 'And do you often do extra work when you get it?'  
  
"Oh, no sir," he assured him earnestly. "But if there's any extra duties you'd like me to take on, I'd be more than happy to."  
  
Lykouleon shook his head feebly. "Perhaps what I meant to ask was... How long has it been since you've slept?"  
  
The white dragon officer glared. "You aren't trying to make me take it easy, are you?" he demanded.  
  
"You're avoiding the question..."  
  
He swallowed, suddenly nervous. "Well, the fact of the matter is, your Highness... I'm not sure."  
  
Lykouleon groaned. "And how long has it been since you've had an intimate relationship?"  
  
Alfeegi gasped, going red. "M-my Lord, I n-never - I mean, uh..."  
  
Lykouleon gaped at him. This man was only a few centuries younger than him; surely... "You're not a virgin, are you?" he asked, scandalized.  
  
Alfeegi looked like he was going to die. "My Lord!"  
  
Lykouleon bit back a chuckle, getting over his shock somewhat. "I may just have to introduce you to someone one of these days then..." he commented.  
  
"No!"  
  
Lykouleon blinked. Not that he minded, of course - he was not exactly the most demanding ruler - but he was disturbed. 'No;' just plain 'no?' That was one of the strangest things to ever come out of Alfeegi's mouth.  
  
Alfeegi, obviously, realized this; the next moment, he clamped a hand over his mouth. "S-sorry! I mean please, don't bother, your Highness."  
  
Too little, too late. Lykouleon smiled absently, resting his chin on the palm of his hand. "You're already in love, aren't you?"  
  
The officer sputtered incoherently. "Certainly not!"  
  
But unfortunately for him, Lykouleon had read far too many romance novels in his time to buy that. "Oh, but I think you are, and once I figure out who it is I'm going to get you two together whether you like it or not. Maybe she'll teach you to relax a bit... or at least wear you out so much that you'll actually sleep in for the first time in your life..."  
  
Alfeegi blushed and said nothing, hurriedly handing him the next paper. Lykouleon fended it off, commenting that he hadn't finished reading the white dragon officer's own report yet, and got back to work. Or pretended to; actually, he was deep in thought, raking his brain for who Alfeegi might have fallen in love with.  
  
By the time he had finished reading the report, he had come to the conclusion that there weren't nearly enough girls in this castle. And none of them seemed like Alfeegi's type, either. He figured that he'd either fall for someone as uptight as himself, or someone his complete opposite. But none of the castle's women really fell into either category.  
  
Alfeegi handed him the next report, and he glanced at its heading. Ah, Ruwalk's. Then it clicked.  
  
They would make such a perfect match, Ruwalk and Alfeegi. Ruwalk would be just the one to teach him how to loosen up. But he was probably being to rash; for all he knew, Alfeegi didn't even like men. He glanced at the twitchy officer out of the corner of his eye; on the other hand, he was almost girly enough...  
  
Okay, he'd made up his mind. Ruwalk would be perfect for Alfeegi; he just simply had to get them together. Now all he needed was a plan.  
  
Needless to say, as he signed documents and forms his mind was on anything but those forms - Alfeegi was becoming even more agitated from having to correct him - so he would never have guessed that when inspiration came at last, it was from one of the documents themselves.  
  
It was a report announcing that the young governor of one of the northern provinces was getting married, and advising that Lykouleon choose a representative or two to attend the wedding. Suddenly, an uncharacteristically evil grin graced his features, and he jotted down two names.  
  
Ruwalk and Alfeegi, of course.  
  
The white dragon officer, who had been reading over his shoulder lest he make another mistake, choked. "Me?!" he demanded, mind no doubt filling with images of the castle crumbling to dust in his absence.  
  
Lykouleon rolled his eyes. "Oh, come now; I'm sure Tetheus and I can manage everything; besides, this should be relaxing for you."  
  
"Relaxing?" Alfeegi squeaked, sounding like he was on the verge of having a panic attack. "I'll have to drag Ruwalk every step of the way!"  
  
He beamed. Alfeegi sounded just a little too desperate for his own good. "Oh, you two can feel free to take it easy and enjoy the sights; the wedding isn't for a month yet."  
  
"But-!"  
  
"In fact, I order you to take it easy; it would be rude to show up too early."  
  
Alfeegi winced, knowing he couldn't turn down an order. "Well, why don't we just leave later then?" he asked hopelessly.  
  
"Because you need a vacation," he replied smugly. "Now you'd better go pack up your things; I want you two to leave as soon as possible."  
  
Alfeegi's face crumpled. "Yes sir," he said, with undertones of 'I'm doomed!' running through it. He left in a daze, though he wasn't quite shocked enough to have mercy and take the remaining stack of papers with him.  
  
Lykouleon took a moment to gloat before summoning Ruwalk to tell him the news; forget the next book sale, this was better than a book!  
  
--==----==----==----==----==----==----==----==----==-----==----==----==---- ==----==--  
  
**SR**: XD That was fun... Man, I have so many evil plans for our poor officers! [cackles] I'm almost not sure what to do to them first... But I know I'll figure something out :) Now, don't forget to review, because everybody knows that reviews are the only thing better than chocolate ice- cream :) 


	2. The Finer Things in Life

**Disclaimer**: [taps foot impatiently] Now what did I say, last chapter, about that being your only warning? Bleh bleh bleh bla bleh... Ah, blood! One of these days I'm gonna get that evil cat...  
  
**SR**: [sniffle] Wow... I feel... motivated again! [glomps reviewers] A great big fat thank-you to all my reviewers, both on this and my other stories! For a while, I was thinking of just giving up on posting here, but then I got on and looked at my reviews and you guys changed my mind :) Though I'm afraid the next chapter will probably take even longer than this one did, because it's not already written... sorry! And again, thank you!  
  
--==----==----==----==----==----==--**Chapter Two**: The Finer Things in Life --==----==----==----==----==----==--  
  
Alfeegi took the Dragon Lord's words to heart - his words about getting ready to leave as soon as possible, that was. He packed the night before, and had eaten breakfast and saddled up his riding dragon by an hour after sun-up. Now there was only one thing missing - Ruwalk.  
  
Alfeegi spent the next fifteen minutes or so scouring the castle for him. Finally he ran across a maid, and demanded to know if she'd seen the yellow officer. She backed away and managed to stutter out that she didn't believe he'd left his room yet.  
  
A few minutes later Alfeegi arrived at his traveling companion's door, and rapped sharply on it. Nothing.  
  
"Ruwalk!" he called irritably. From inside the room, there was a moan; nothing more. Alfeegi's eyes widened; what if Ruwalk was sick or something? That could explain why he was up so late; after all, Alfeegi usually got up several hours earlier than this on a normal day. Making up his mind, the white dragon officer stepped inside the room.  
  
It was dark; the curtains hadn't been pulled back yet. Ruwalk lay sprawled on the bed with all the covers kicked onto the floor.  
  
Alfeegi blushed bright red; apparently he slept without a shirt...  
  
For a moment, he allowed himself to just stand there and stare. The Lord would never figure out who he was in love with, he reflected, as long as Lykouleon was only considering his female acquaintances. Though he supposed he was more infatuated with Ruwalk than really in love with him; he hardly knew anything about the beautiful brown-haired officer. Beyond the fact that he was incredibly beautiful, anyway.  
  
Perhaps the reason that he had become so obsessed with him was because he envied him. Ruwalk was everything that he would really like to be - laid back, calm, sure of himself. But, at least as far as he was concerned, nothing would ever get done around here if he acted like that.  
  
Finally he sighed, breaking out of his trance. He tried not to wonder whether Ruwalk would sleep topless during their trip too, because that would probably just be too much, as he walked over to wake him up.  
  
"Ruwalk. Ruwalk? Ruwalk!" Said officer moaned again, and shoved his head under the pillow. Alfeegi stared for a moment, but he appeared to still be fast asleep. He scowled, half glad for an excuse to touch his crush, half really wishing he didn't have to, and shook him gently. He was startled; though Ruwalk had the deep scars from that demon, his skin was otherwise smooth and flawless. He felt himself reddening again, and thanked the powers that it was dim in here.  
  
Ruwalk grumbled something unintelligible, and swatted at him. However, this meant that he could no longer hold the pillow over his head; Alfeegi yanked it away triumphantly. "Wake up already!"  
  
Finally, Ruwalk gave up the battle and opened one eye. "Oh no, not you," he sighed, and rolled over onto his side.  
  
Alfeegi blinked, miffed. 'Oh, wow, you have a real chance with someone whose first response upon seeing you is 'Oh no, not you!'' a snide little voice said in the back of his head. He chose to ignore it, opting for moving over to the other side of the bed where he could see Ruwalk's face instead.  
  
"Come on, wake up," he coaxed, a tad more gently this time. "We have to leave for that wedding today, remember?"  
  
Ruwalk finally opened both eyes, raising an eyebrow quizzically. "Are you sure the Lord said 'today?'"  
  
"I distinctly remember him saying 'as soon as possible,' yes."  
  
Ruwalk rolled over again, showing what he thought of _that_. "Yeah, well, that doesn't necessarily mean 'today,'" he pointed out, pausing to yawn. "Today is too soon to be possible; ask me again tomorrow."  
  
Alfeegi frowned, getting peeved again against his better judgment. "Do you realize that I'm already completely ready?" he asked, in a tight little voice that could snap at any moment.  
  
"No, I didn't; thanks for letting me know. Go back to bed, 'Feegi."  
  
He snapped. "GET UP!"  
  
Ruwalk fell out of bed at this, giving a sort of undignified 'squeak.' Alfeegi spared him one disdainful look as he marched out of the room, saying over his shoulder, "Now, twenty minutes should give you enough time to pack, get dressed and have breakfast; step on it!"  
  
--==----==----==----==----==----==----==----==----==-----==----==----==---- ==----==--  
  
About an hour and a half later - around ten - they hit the road.  
  
Needless to say, both were highly irritated with each other, though Alfeegi possibly more so than Ruwalk. Finally, it was the yellow dragon officer that broke the increasingly uncomfortable silence.  
  
"Alfeegi?" He simply grunted in reply, busily wondering how they would ever reach their destination if it always took this long to get Ruwalk moving. "Y'know, the Lord told me about how he ordered you to take it easy on this trip..."  
  
Orange eyes met brown, flashing the best glare they could manage. Ruwalk gulped, but continued bravely on. "...And he ordered _me_ to make sure you carry out _your_ order..."  
  
Alfeegi groaned. "Why are all you people obsessed with getting me to take it easy?" he snapped.  
  
To his surprise, Ruwalk smiled. Melt. "We're worried about you, Alfeegi," he answered simply.  
  
Alfeegi whipped his head around, facing in front of him again, and tried to pull himself together. "I'm fine," he grumbled irritably, though perhaps without as much spark as before.  
  
Ruwalk rolled his eyes. "No, you're not," he said firmly. "I can see from here how tense you are." Alfeegi twitched; yeah, he was tense all right, but possibly for different reasons than his companion suspected. "Come on, let's take a little break."  
  
He stared at him again, gaping. "Break?!" he demanded, as if it were a foreign word. "But we just started!"  
  
He shrugged. "Yeah - an hour ago. And see that sign - it says Scenic Overlook! I'll bet it's the perfect place for an early lunch." And he left him not chance to protest, steering his darna up the narrow dirt path coming off the main road.  
  
Alfeegi sighed, combing a hand through his hair and resisting the urge to find something to strangle. Reluctantly, he followed Ruwalk; what chance did he have? But when he reached the top of the hill that the path led to, he was almost glad he'd come; his breath caught at the sight of it.  
  
Ruwalk beamed, surveying the vast expanse of forested hills, becoming mountains in the distance. "Yeah, I'd say that's pretty scenic," he said approvingly, hopping off his riding dragon and grabbing the food pack. "Come on 'Feegi; help me spread out the blanket."  
  
Alfeegi scowled, but did as he was asked. Whatever had possessed Ruwalk to pack a picnic blanket, anyway? This was a mission, not a pleasure trip! "We aren't going to be taking it this easy the whole trip, I'll have you know," he commented stiffly, rummaging through the pack.  
  
Ruwalk snorted. "Yes, we are. You can't go against the Lord's orders, after all."  
  
He shrugged, selecting a sandwich absentmindedly. "He never said how easy I had to take it," he pointed out, and bit into his food. Tuna, blarg. Oh well. "For me, sleeping in until five is taking it easy."  
  
"Well, when in doubt, we'd probably better go by my standards of 'taking it easy,'" he said sagely. "After all, he ordered me to make you take it easy, and what I call 'taking it easy' would also be 'taking it easy' for you, right?"  
  
He glared, beginning to wonder exactly how he had fallen in love with this man. "No, what you call 'taking it easy,' I call 'lazy.'"  
  
Ruwalk chuckled. "Look, Alfeegi," he said seriously, "there's no getting around it. The Lord's right, after all; it would be impolite of us to show up too early for this wedding thing, because then they'd have to worry about feeding us and stuff. So we have no choice but to travel slowly. Might as well have fun along the way, right?"  
  
Alfeegi sighed at his impeccable grasp on logic. He was just so used to rushing about all the time that having 'fun' was practically an unknown concept. "Fine," he sulked. "I'll have fun, but I don't have to enjoy it."  
  
Ruwalk blinked owlishly at him, and cracked up.  
  
Alfeegi couldn't help it; he could feel his lips twitch ever so slightly into a half-smile. Okay, so Ruwalk annoyed him no end. But that was the reason why he'd fallen in love with him, wasn't it?  
  
--==----==----==----==----==----==----==----==----==-----==----==----==---- ==----==--  
  
It was something that Dragon Lords were famous for, this ability. Even the Elves were somewhat in awe of it. It was a tradition that had been passed on for time out of mind, from one Lord to the next, and it was the most efficient way of ruling a country ever invented. As long as it occurred within the scope of his or her boundaries, a Dragon Lord could view anything happening in their kingdom, via the minds of the plants and animals.  
  
Lykouleon smiled, watching his two officers. They were getting along nicely, in his opinion...  
  
--==----==----==----==----==----==----==----==----==-----==----==----==---- ==----==--  
  
That night they camped out under the stars; to Alfeegi's relief/disappointment Ruwalk did indeed decide to sleep fully clothed, and he even slept a respectful distance away. But Alfeegi was still awake for hours, listening to the other's gentle breathing.  
  
They travel all morning the next day, stopping for another picnicy lunch around noon next to a small stream. Yes, it wasn't until around three that afternoon that disaster struck.  
  
It struck in the form of a perfectly innocent-looking little town. They decided to just pass though it and get some supplies since it was too early to stop for the night (or at least, that was Alfeegi's opinion). But Alfeegi hardly noticed it; he was too preoccupied with staring at Ruwalk out of the corner of his eye. It had quickly become one of his favorite pass times during the trip, but for once he wasn't just staring to stare; Ruwalk was scaring him. He wore an increasingly thoughtful expression.  
  
"Hey Alfeegi, I was wondering something," he said, so suddenly that said officer jumped. "I'll bet you've never been to a bar in your life, have you?"  
  
He choked. "I - well - what?! ...no. Why do you want to know, anyway?"  
  
Ruwalk smirked. "Geez! Have you ever even had alcohol?"  
  
He scowled. "Of course I have! The Lord usually has champagne and wine at his feasts, after all."  
  
He shrugged, as if that didn't count. "Yeah, but no beer, right?"  
  
"...no."  
  
"Well, we'll have to do something about that!"  
  
Alfeegi gaped at him. "No! Absolutely not!"  
  
"Oh, come on! Don't you remember what the Lord said about taking our time?"  
  
"..." Alfeegi couldn't come up with anything to counter that. "Fine! But I don't guarantee that I'll drink anything." Ruwalk just grinned, and led the search for the town's finest pub.  
  
--==----==----==----==----==----==----==----==----==-----==----==----==---- ==----==--  
  
"..." Alfeegi commented, scowling into middle distance. He was seated at the counter of a noisy bar next to Ruwalk, attempting to ignore all the other occupants of the establishment. When they had first gotten there had he had asked for water, earning him an automatic black mark, and now people stared at him from time to time. But this was the least of his worries.  
  
The problem was, there were these girls. One of them was sitting unpleasantly close to Ruwalk, and was talking to him. Another one had given up on trying to sit close to Alfeegi, but she was still talking. He wasn't sure what about, because he was too busy paying attention to his crush, and feeling steamed. What did Ruwalk think he was doing, letting that, that _girl_ cling all over him?  
  
Eventually, his girl - well, woman, actually, has her revealing clothing bluntly pointed out - gave up on him entirely and wandered off, hopefully to actually fulfill her job as a waitress instead of harassing the customers. Ruwalk shot him a surprised look, and asked the waitress that was fawning over him if she could go get him another drink. Once she was gone, he turned his attention to Alfeegi.  
  
"Hey, what's the matter?" he demanded. "You were supposed to relax here, not get more tense."  
  
He frowned. "Perhaps, but I didn't know I was also supposed to pick up a whore," he said quietly, and gave his water his full attention.  
  
"Oh, come on; they're just being friendly," Ruwalk said, and gave a girlish little giggle. Alfeegi blinked, realizing that his companion was already slightly drunk. "Look, all I'm asking is that you try to make some polite conversation." At this point the waitress came back, giving Alfeegi no chance to reply. "And what better way to ease polite conversation along than trying at least a sip of my beer?"  
  
Sighing, he accepted. If he didn't he would look like the greatest sissy-girl of all time to the bar's other customers. He took a small sip - and almost spit it out. This was nothing like the Lord's wine! There were things floating in it too, he realized...  
  
"Hey, you've gotta take a bigger drink than that!" Ruwalk said cheerfully, buzzed traitor that he was.  
  
Screwing his eyes shut, he took the biggest gulp he could manage. It was so foul... But there was this strange feeling too. He took another experimental drink, and decided that maybe it wasn't totally unbearable after all...  
  
--==----==----==----==----==----==----==----==----==-----==----==----==---- ==----==--  
  
"I'm a baby cat! Meow! Meow!"  
  
Ruwalk groaned, trying to plug his ears - though that was impossible, because one arm was fully occupied with the business of making sure Alfeegi didn't fall over or run into anything on the way to the inn. "Would you stop singing that _stupid_ song already?!"  
  
Alfeegi looked at him with a hurt expression. "Sorry, Ruwalk-kun, I didn't know I was annoying you."  
  
He blanched. Alfeegi never called anyone 'kun.' But then, he was very drunk. "It's okay," he said awkwardly, feeling like fate was being very cruel to him just now - he was slightly drunk himself, but he had to deal with Alfeegi too?  
  
His charge beamed. "Oh, it's okay if I sing? I'm a baby cat!"  
  
Ruwalk groaned again, using all of his willpower to keep from ripping out his own hair. This was going to be a long night...  
  
Finally, they made it to the inn. The innkeeper seemed barely fazed by their drunkenness, to Ruwalk's great relief. She did warn him, though, that if Alfeegi bothered the other customers with his signing she might have to make them leave. He assured her that he'd try to keep him quiet, and proceeded to drag his companion to their room.  
  
He sighed, surveying said room. It was neat, but small; the innkeeper had explained that they were fairly well booked right now and they only had one-person rooms left. He would have gotten them separate bedrooms, but he figured that he was obliged to keep watch over Alfeegi since it was his fault he was drunk.  
  
Finally, he managed to convince Alfeegi to go to bed, though to his infinite misery he declared that he was still going to try to stay up all night.  
  
Ruwalk sighed. "Yeah, that's really cool... But you know what would make it even more challenging? If you closed your eyes and stopped talking."  
  
"Wow, you're right!" Alfeegi blinked. "Hey, where're you gonna sleep? There's only one bed..."  
  
Sweatdrop. Well, it looked like he wasn't going to be shutting up anytime soon anyway... "We're sharing the bed," he said simply, attempting to shove his fellow officer onto his own half of the mattress.  
  
Alfeegi let him, giggling. "You know, a lot of people would take that the wrong way..."  
  
Ruwalk sweatdropped more. "Go to sleep already."  
  
Alfeegi pouted. "Oh, fine... spoil sport... I'll try to go to sleep, but will you answer just one question first?"  
  
Yeah, he really needed to smother one of them, he wasn't sure which, with a pillow... "Okay, fine, ask away - as long as you promise to shut up afterwards..."  
  
Alfeegi beamed. "Promise! What would you do... If a guy told you he loved you?"  
  
Ruwalk froze. "W-what?!"  
  
"What would you do if-"  
  
"Yeah, I heard you the first time," he said hurriedly, blushing. "I-I don't know... I mean, I guess it would depend on who it was... If I didn't know him I'd probably beat the shit out of him, but if it was a friend, well, I wouldn't... I mean, you don't beat the shit out of a friend..." He shouldn't have to deal with this right now...  
  
Abruptly, Alfeegi rolled over onto his side; it was a small bed, after all, and they wound up almost nose to nose. Ruwalk found that he couldn't seem to move; how could someone who was so drunk have such a serious expression? "What would you do if I told you I loved you?"  
  
"I-I though we agreed on one question," he managed to squeak.  
  
He blinked, and the disturbing expression was gone. "Whoops, you're right! Sorry! Well, good night then!"  
  
Ruwalk shuddered, attempting to roll over so he faced the wall, without falling out of the bed. What a weird thing to ask; it had really creeped him out... But he chuckled softly as he heard gentle snores coming from the bed's other occupant. Stay up all night, huh? Right... He was so incredibly drunk; he probably hadn't meant anything by asking that. Ruwalk sighed, closing his eyes. That poor guy was going to have the mother of all hangovers the next morning, he mused, just before sleep took him.  
  
--==----==----==----==----==----==----==----==----==-----==----==----==---- ==----==--  
  
**SR**: [grin] Wow, a drunken Alfeegi is really fun to write! Hmm, maybe I should have said poor, innocent Ruwalk instead... Oh well ;) Oh, and yes, I did steal more from Discworld. For this one, I would recommend Wyrd Sisters. Geez, this was a long chapter! It's actually two chapters put together; I wrote them separately then decided that they sucked by themselves O.o Hope the end product doesn't suck too... Now, why don't you be a real pal and click on that lovely little button down there so you can tell me how much you love me? 


	3. Duty

**Disclaimer**: You know, I think I deserve hostage of Alfeegi. Mineko Ohkami killed him off! I would never dream of mistreating such a lovely bishi... (glomps Alfeegi) Yeah, and what about Beirrez and Gil? (glomps them all)

**A/N**: (gape) I... AM SO SORRY! (bows multiple times) Does anyone even remember what this fic is about anymore? Anyone? (crickets) (sweatdrop) Oh well, it's not like there's that much to remember; it barely has a plot... muttermutter... Well, it's just that I was booted, and I've been trying to repost everything on fan fiction net, and aff net, and Media Miner, all at once T.T I think there's something wrong with me. Plus school's not exactly helping the situation, nor is the looming P-SAT... shudder... Well, enjoy T.T LOL...

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**Chapter Three: Duty**

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Ruwalk was right; his companion did have his first hang-over the next morning. Unfortunately, Ruwalk also had a pretty bad one. Needless to say, they didn't go anywhere that day.

The next day, however, they got back on the road. Things continued pretty much the same for a while, though minus any more stops at bars because Alfeegi had vowed never to drink again...

Eventually, though, they did stop to spend the night at another town. It was there that Ruwalk heard the rumor. Though maybe it had surpassed the rumor stage, now, and was more at the first-page-of-the-local-paper-in-big-bold-letters phase...

As the sun set they had stopped at a way house of the perhaps more civilized sort, and Ruwalk had immediately left Alfeegi to make idle chit-chat with the other customers. The white officer was now staring moodily at his drink - iced tea, thank you _very _much - and wondering if he really made such bad company. Just as he was considering giving beer another go, after all - was he really to the point of suicide already? - Ruwalk plopped down in the chair next to him. "We have a job to do!" he declared, sounding entirely too cheerful for his own good.

Alfeegi sweatdropped. "Excuse me?"

"Oh, don't look at me like that. It'll do you some good! It's been forever since you've done any demon slaying, after all."

Alfeegi just barely avoided dropping his iced tea. "_Excuse _me?!"

Ruwalk winced, shooting a glance at the inn's other occupants, and for the first time reconsidered his course of action. "Maybe we should talk about this... Outside?"

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"Start at the beginning," Alfeegi said, in a tightly controlled little voice. "What demon?"

"It's just a lesser monster that's been pestering the villagers," Ruwalk said hurriedly, wishing Alfeegi didn't look so _twitchy _just now. "It's been stealing their belongings, just little things; it seems to go for the shiny stuff. But yesterday this man says he saw it fly off with his goat. The villagers are saying this is the first time it's ever stolen something alive; they're starting to get worried. As Dragon Officers, it's our duty to... well, you know...um..." His voice trailed off as a vision of impending doom loomed up in front of his face.

"You _promised _them we'd take care of it, didn't you?"

"Well-"

"We're not on this trip to exterminate demons, you know!"

Ruwalk raised an eyebrow. "Maybe not, but we've certainly got the time. And it's our duty-"

"Look, can't we just send a messenger home for the Knights?" Alfeegi asked, abruptly switching from flaming rage to somewhat desperate. "They're just sitting around at the castle, probably not even doing their paperwork-"

The eyebrow rose higher. "It's just a lesser demon; I'm sure we can handle it."

"Well, yeah-" Alfeegi invested a few moments in examining the street. Considering that he had to walk on it, that probably wasn't such a good idea. What exactly _was_ that brown thing, anyway? "Well, it's just, you and I, we don't really do much fighting, do we?" he said, all in a rush. "That's more Kai-stern and Tetheus's kind of thing, isn't it? And I just don't know if-"

Ruwalk couldn't help it; he had to chuckle. "You think you're not good enough? Really? I'd have to say otherwise. We practice together all the time; I should know. I think you're underestimating yourself, Alfeegi. Trust me, it'll be fine. In fact, why don't we go take care of it right now, while it's still a little light out?" Then he winked, and wrapped an arm around the other officer's shoulders to lead him back inside. "I'll watch your back."

Alfeegi could feel himself start to blush, and furiously forced it down. "Are you sure?" he asked doubtfully. Ruwalk nodded cheerfully, but that didn't really help. Ruwalk didn't understand what he was worried about. It wasn't him; he was worried that Ruwalk might get hurt. If that happened...

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By about an hour later, however, Alfeegi's outlook was far more optimistic. He expressed this feeling by becoming irritable.

"Look, Ruwalk, it's _dark_. You've noticed that, right? And we haven't found a single trace of this so-called 'demon' - so let's go back already!"

Ruwalk grinned nervously. Alfeegi could only tell he was doing this at this point because the moonlight flashed off his white teeth. "What do you mean, 'not a trace'? Who would leave a thimble way out here?"

"Well, I don't know; maybe-" It was at about this point that a shadow passed over the moon.

Alfeegi was instantly clinging to Ruwalk's arm and peering out, wide-eyed, at the surrounding forest as if he thought it might eat him. "W-w-what...?"

Ruwalk sighed, and gestured heavenward. "A cloud. Y'know, if you're this worried, maybe we should come back tomorrow..."

Alfeegi suddenly became aware of his position, and hurriedly removed himself. "Um, gomen..." He cleared his throat. "Yeah, let's... let's do that..."

As they began the trek back to their lodge, the White Dragon officer became increasingly conscious of his surroundings. They were so far into the surrounding woods that he couldn't even see the lights of the village anymore. The only light came from the moon, and that was when it wasn't covered by clouds. He stared at a distant campfire, glimmering like a bright star in the valley below them, with longing. The noises of the animal nightlife made him not only jittery, but angry _because _he was jittery. He was a Dragon Office, for crying out loud.

"Hey... Ruwalk?" he ventured, after they had been walking in silence for a few minutes.

"Hmm?"

"I'm... sorry I chickened out. I'm so pathetic, I know."

Ruwalk shot a shocked glance at him; he had his full attention now. "What?! No you're not; where the hell did you get that idea?"

"Well, you know..." This was embarrassing enough as it was; did he have to go and make it worse? "I'm only really any good at paperwork and politics, and nothing else. You, Tetheus, Kai-stern... you're all so much better at fighting." He laughed uncomfortably. "Sometimes I feel like I shouldn't even be an Officer."

Ruwalk grabbed his shoulders, and Alfeegi found himself momentarily reeling at his touch, his sent, the intensity in his eyes. "Don't think that, Alfeegi! Being an Officer isn't about going out and slaying demons; it's about... serving the Dragon Lord. I thought you, of all people, should understand that. What you do is just as important as the rest of us... Well, I mean, maybe you go a little overboard sometimes..." He paused, laughing nervously and rubbing the back of his neck. "...But that's not the point! At least if you're going overboard, that means you're certainly anything but useless! Without you, the entire Dragon clan would be completely disorganized. So don't feel bad about yourself, okay?"

Alfeegi felt himself tearing up, and cursed mentally. Then he noticed that Ruwalk was holding him for perhaps longer than he needed to, staring down at him, and he blushed. "Thanks," he muttered, feeling highly embarrassed.

Ruwalk looked a little embarrassed too, no doubt at getting so emotional, but he grinned. "No big deal." Then he realized he still had hold of Alfeegi's shoulders, and let go. "Now, let's-"

At which point Ruwalk interrupted himself with a shocked yell, and Alfeegi's world went black.

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Curtains. Curtains, that's what those were. Fascinating. They floated in the gentle breeze and bight noon sun as if he was seeing them from the other side of a pool of glowing water. He stared at them for some time, mesmerized.

Or at least it felt like some time. In reality it was only a few moments before the shouting started. Ruwalk jumped out of his chair, entering his line of vision. "Alfeegi, you're awake! Thank goodness! Can you hear me?"

He blinked. It was beginning to come back to him, but surely there was still something missing because what he could remember wasn't helping that much. "Hi," he said, wincing at how hoarse his own voice sounded. "What's going on? Where are the woods?"

Then, to his shock, Ruwalk hugged him. He had about two seconds to marvel at his good fortune, before he noticed the pain. "Ow!"

Ruwalk instantly laid him back down on what he discovered to be a bed, all disturbingly-maternal concern. "Are you okay? The doctor said all your wounds should be healed, but you'd probably be pretty stiff from sleeping so long..."

He arched an eyebrow, the only thing that didn't seem to be painful to move at this point. "Wounds? _What _wounds? What's going on? And could I please have some water?"

Ruwalk hurriedly started filling a cup from a pitcher on the table by the bed as he talked. "It turns out the demon we were looking for that night found us instead. He snuck up on us and got you good before we even heard him coming. He was a lot nastier than any lesser demon that goes for shiny things, let me tell you; I think he _ate_ the original one." Ruwalk put the pitcher down and carefully gave Alfeegi a drink; he was about to protest that he wasn't _that _out of it, thank you, but then he realized that it was actually kind of nice... "Anyway," Ruwalk continued, "after I killed it I rushed you back here to a doctor. He managed to heal your wounds, but he said you'd have to sleep it off for about a week."

Alfeegi nearly choked on his water, then pushed it away even though he was still thirsty. "A week?! Why didn't you tell me?! We'll be late!"

Ruwalk rolled his eyes. "Not this again... Don't even think about it, seriously." When Alfeegi tried to get up Ruwalk pushed him back down with just two fingers; Alfeegi scowled. "See? You won't be fit to travel until tomorrow, at least. Let me give you a massage."

At Alfeegi's shocked look, he added, "It's what the doctor said to do if you woke up stiff. It's not just from lying there all week, you know; it's also from all the magic he had to work on you... So, do you want one?"

"Yes!" Alfeegi said, just maybe a little too quickly, and sat up as fast as said stiffness would allow.

Ruwalk chuckled. "Well, if you can sit up by yourself it must not be too bad, but that's okay. Take off your shirt; it's easier that way." Trying hard not to blush - and failing miserably - Alfeegi did as he was told. What was it about Ruwalk that made him act so swoony? It was so annoying... in a good way... Then Ruwalk sat down behind him and got to work, and for the next few minutes his only coherent thought was how he really needed to get mauled by demons more often... His incoherent thoughts were something like how warm Ruwalk's hands were, and how he wished they were elsewhere...

"I'm sorry I couldn't help you kill the demon," he found himself muttering. He didn't know what part of his brain it was that wasn't completely caught up in Ruwalk's touches, but it made a good point so he decided to leave it be.

Ruwalk scoffed. "You're sorry? I'm the one who should be sorry, especially after I promised I'd watch out for you." He sighed. "I mean, I was even _looking_ that way, you know? I shouldn't have let you get hurt."

Alfeegi couldn't help but smile. "Ruwalk..."

"Yes?"

'You're too wonderful for your own good.' "...Nothing." Ruwalk hesitated for a moment, but didn't push it.

It was a few minutes before either of them spoke again. "Do you think you feel better now?" Ruwalk asked.

Alfeegi smirked ever so slightly as he surprised himself. "Actually, if you could do just a little more, right around the neck... yeah, right there..."

Even after he was gone, he could swear he could still feel Ruwalk's hands on him.

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**A/N**: Aw... Okay, I'm better now. (chibi victory dance) Ha, I finished it! Chapter three, at long last! (tears of joy) It wasn't crap, was it? It's been so long since I've touched this story; I'm afraid my style might have changed or something. Probably for the worse, sniff. Also, I'm sorry if Alfeegi's too girly; don't worry, he gets his revenge in the next chapter... (evil cackle)... There're actually probably only going to be two more chapters and a short lil' epilogue, in case you're curious... Maybe I'll actually be able to finish the whole story someday; isn't that a unique concept? R&R onegai!!!


	4. Cabin Fever

**Disclaimer:** All I own is Kharl's watering can; bwuha! Oh, wait, I don't even own that, crap...

**A/N:** Wow, did this chapter ever take forever to post... Don't they all? But I think this one's taken even longer. Well, of course I've been super busy with school, not to mention I've started not one but two major projects lately. They're both going to be KharlxRath, so while they're not anywhere close to being done and I'm not going to post them until they are (so I can avoid the kind of problem I had here, eh heh...), if you like that pairing then please look for Purple and My Immortal (which, incidentally, has nothing to do with and was not even inspired by the song by Evanescence). Wow, that was a long sentence. But also, the biggest problem is that my computer is pretty much dead until further notice - my dad's trying to fix it, but it's not cooperating. This means that my access to the Internet has been erratic at best T.T Nevertheless, I finally managed to finish this story! Yes, that's right; in exchange for how long I made you wait, I'm going to post the whole rest of the story! Aren't you excited? Okay, so really I'm only doing it because it happens to be convienet, because I got it all written before I managed to get to a place with Internet... (sweatdrop) Now, I think I've kept you waiting quite long enough so I have just one thing to say to give you a hint of what I'm borrowing from this time... savvy? XD Which is not mine, either, btw... Okay, okay, I'm done now, really...

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**Chapter Four**: Cabin Fever

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Alfeegi eyed the port dubiously. "Which one is ours?"

Ruwalk examined the paper the captain they'd met at the inn gave them, and then pointed. "That one."

Alfeegi did a double take. "That one!"

"Yup, that one," he replied, entirely too cheerful.

Alfeegi sighed, eyeing the miraculously-still-floating pile of junk with an increasing sense of foreboding. He had known there was going to be water involved in this trip; he'd been trying not to think about it. But now that the moment had arrived, he found it hadn't helped much in the end. He'd never been on a ship before, after all. It wasn't as if he had any concrete reason to believe he would be sea-sick, except that with his luck, he didn't need one...

When he got on, though, he found it actually wasn't so bad after all. It took him a few minutes to get his balance, but by the time they had seen their bags to their tiny room he could already walk okay as long as he had something to hang on to, just in case. Standing on the deck now, he even found the rocking motion sort of soothing. For a moment he imagined the ship was a living thing, straining against the anchor, ready to get under way-

A noise distracted him. He looked over his shoulder, and twitched. "Ruwalk, are you okay!"

The other officer looked like he was going to reply, but then he hurriedly put his head over the side again. After a moment there was a low, miserable moan. Several of the other passengers on deck backed away. Alfeegi sighed; so much for soothing...

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Alfeegi fed Ruwalk his lunch, some black-brown gruel skeptically called 'soup', with great concern. "Do you think you'll be able to keep it down?"

"Not in the best of times," Ruwalk said cheerfully. "Hey, I'm kidding, sheesh... Though you have to admit, I mean, look at the stuff... Seriously, I'm feeling a lot better. I don't think you have to spoon feed me..." Then they crested a particularly large swell and started on the downward slope, and Ruwalk went a bit pale.

Alfeegi rolled his eyes, and calmly retrieved the spoon from under the bed. "Yes, actually, I think I do. Especially since it seems to be getting a bit worse. Maybe we ran into a little weather, or currents or something..." He looked critically at the utensil he'd been about to dip in the gruel. "Um, do you want any more of this? I'd have to get another spoon; I think we have rats..."

Ruwalk grimaced. "No thanks. I think the soup might have been made of rats to begin with."

Alfeegi nodded, setting the food aside. Then he frowned, grabbing onto the edge of the stool just to stay on as they crested another big wave. And jumped, as various small items fell off the shelf for the umpteenth time that hour (the sailors were smart; everything that had been there when they came was nailed down). And sweatdropped, as Ruwalk gave a small, miserable moan.

"You jinxed us," he commented, trying for a feeble smile. For some odd reason it looked more like a grimace. Alfeegi returned it, trying to look a bit more comforting.

"Hey, how would you like to go up on deck for a while?" he said, mock-cheerfully. "I'm sure a little fresh air would make you feel better."

Ruwalk rolled his eyes. "You would..." At Alfeegi's hurt look, he chuckled. "Not that I don't agree; it's just that that's just the sort of thing you'd say. You're such a mother hen."

Alfeegi still looked affronted. "Is it so wrong for me to care about you?" he said, rather like someone running off a cliff because they didn't realize _quite _soon enough that it was there. Then he hurriedly helped Ruwalk up, to cover his blush.

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He _was _right though, Ruwalk had to admit, after Alfeegi had brought him up on deck and had been persuaded, with much effort, to go away so that one of them might have a little fun. He really was feeling a lot better. (Now, at least; the first few minutes had been spent in a kind of quiet horror, being slowly hypnotized into oblivion by the sight of the waves). He had learned not to look so closely at them, however, and sky was blue and the sun was warm and he was so comfortable just lying here that he could almost forget that he was not-so-slowly going up and down, side to side, over and over and over... He grimaced. Almost was the operative word there, of course.

Presently there were boots. These boot contained feet which, when Ruwalk looked up, appeared to be connected to a beaming young human. "Hello there! How are you?"

Ruwalk took a moment to contemplate this. Obviously the boy was simple if he couldn't tell just from looking at him, not to mention entirely too cheerful for his current cheerfulness capacity. Nevertheless, Ruwalk had never been known to be cruel to children. "I'm feeling rather ill, actually."

The child continued to smile. "That's a shame! Where are you going?"

"Er... A wedding."

"You mean you're getting married?"

He flushed. "No!"

The boy seemed to consider this deeply for a moment. Then he said, very solemnly, "Would you like to see my pet rat?"

Ruwalk blanched. "Er, that's okay, really..."

"But he's quite tame. Here, see?"

This was going to be a very long afternoon...

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After dinner that night, Ruwalk fell almost instantly into a fitful sleep, punctured by nonsensical mutterings involving a rat called Biter. Alfeegi stayed up for hours longer, just watching... until, a few hours before dawn, he too gave into exhaustion.

When he woke up, the sun was shining through the curtains of the small round window onto his closed eyes. Ngg. Also, he noticed that he felt strangely warm, and the bed was... was... He opened his eyes.

He was lying on the floor; he must have fallen out of bed overnight. He didn't find this particularly interesting, however. He was far more interested in the other person who'd fallen out of bed...

Ruwalk lay half on top of him, hugging him to his bare chest. This was understandably _far _more fascinating than any nocturnal journeys he may have made. For the moment, he had forgotten how to breathe. Sleeping in the sunlight Ruwalk looked simply perfect, despite the fact that his hair was all frazzled and a thick clump of it was hanging right across the middle of his face. Speaking of his face, it was awfully close to his own... Alfeegi blushed. No, uh-uh, bad. His job was to suffer quietly for all of eternity, remember? Ug, this was so cheesy... He squirmed a little, trying to get up.

_"Is it so wrong for me to care about you?" _Well, yeah, but...

At which point Ruwalk made an adorable little noise, and pulled him closer. Gulp. Inches, now. Just a couple inches. Just a couple seconds... Alfeegi bent closer, not entirely sure, or wanting to be sure, of what he was doing until it was too late, until his lips brushed over Ruwalk's, and after a moment, pressed more firmly...

There was a banging on the door, and Alfeegi nearly jumped out of his skin. It was a rude, matter-of-fact, and most importantly _loud _banging that was obviously competing for the position of Most Annoyingly Timed Banging of all Time. It probably had a good chance of winning, too. "The ship will be coming into port in one hour!" the knocker announced, and without waiting for a response, moved on to the next door.

Ruwalk opened his eyes, and looked around blearily. Then he smiled. "Oh, good morning Alfee -" And he blanched. "I-I-I..." He scrambled backwards, hands clapped firmly over his mouth.

Alfeegi felt his blush coming back full force, but was too mortified to care. This was it, he was doomed. Well, he still had one hour left in which to jump overboard. "W-what?"

Ruwalk shuddered. "Alfeegi, I... I'm sorry, but, _oh, _my _stomach..._"

Alfeegi stared for a moment. Then he sighed, for more reasons than he could count (though relief and weariness were vying for first place). Gods, was he ever going to be glad to get off this boat. Maybe things would be calmer once they were on land again...


	5. My Dear Idiot

**A/N: **Warning: this chapter has been edited for your protection. Okay, so really it's been edited for mine; I don't want to get kicked off again, thank you very much. Hence, it sucks T.T I'm so ashamed. Don't read it; read the unedited version instead (the link is in my bio; hurry, hurry! lol…) It's not like it's even particularly graphic or anything; it's really more R than NC-17. At least, I think so. At least, compared to the rest of my works, grin. However, I know that _some _members of this community would disagree… sniff… Okay, I've had my rant; I feel better now :)

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**Chapter Five**: My Dear Idiot

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_Heh. What have I got to loose, right?_

The northern territories - Glaciosa, to be exact - were discovered to be cold. The poor drana appeared to be slowly crystallizing under the onslaught. Alfeegi knew _he _was crystallizing, and none too slowly if he had anything to say about it.

"You should have packed warmer clothes," Ruwalk said jovially, from within layers of fur. "It's so unlike you; wait till I tell the Lord!"

Alfeegi scowled, and pretended he hadn't heard that. "Yes, well, I guess I was so busy getting _someone _out of bed th-that it slipped my mind."

It was a tiny mistake, but Ruwalk's expression softened. "You really are cold, aren't you? Here." He pulled his dragon up close to Alfeegi's, and draped one of his outer coats over him.

Alfeegi shivered for a whole new reason. Ruwalk appeared not to notice; he smiled. "Thanks..."

"No problem." And they rode on.

At this point it seems that some sort of 'nature paragraph' is in order. So here it is. It has already been mentioned that the travelers, Alfeegi in particular, were cold, but even this did not stop them from at least somewhat appreciating the sweeping landscape surrounding them. (Why sweeping, anyway? It's not like there were any brooms involved...). The country was very hilly, and the path ran generally along the high areas (presumably so that you could get lost while still knowing where you were in relation to everything else), offering an impressive view of the pine forests that stretched away miles and miles on all sides. Despite the cold, hardy insects led secret lives within the shrubs on the edges of the road, and bird tweeted suspiciously in the trees. It was a perfect place, a land of describable beauty, a paradise unsullied by man.

Which meant, of course, no towns. No inns. No road signs, for that matter.

Around noon on the first day after they'd left the port town, while they were stopping for lunch, Alfeegi gave a nervous little laugh. "Uh... Ruwalk?"

"Hmm?"

"You... do know where we are, right?"

"Of course!" he said, beaming.

Alfeegi looked hard at him for a moment. "It's just that, you know, that last road look a lot better cared for."

"Yes, but that doesn't _necessarily _mean it was the right one, now does it?" In spite of the cold, Ruwalk seemed to be sweating slightly. Alfeegi was glaring at him now.

"In fact, this road seems to be getting worse and worse the further we go."

"Yes, well..."

Though Ruwalk would not have previously believed it to be possible, the temperature actually seemed to have dropped several degrees. "Ruwalk, _where are we_?"

"Er... well... You see all these lovely trees? They're really quiet lovely, when you-"

"_Ruwalk! _Don't you _dare _change the subject!"

He swallowed. "I'm not! Er... The trees... Well, we're sort of in the middle of them."

"ARGH!"

They rode on.

And eventually it began to get dark. Alfeegi groaned. "We're going to die!"

Ruwalk gaped at him. "Of course we're not."

"Yes we are!" he said miserably. "We're lost! We're going to freeze to death, or else run out of food before we find a town and starve, or maybe even get eaten! I hear they have lots of bears up here!"

"Yes, and if you don't calm down every one of them within a ten mile radius will hear you," Ruwalk said calmly. "Everything's going to be okay, I promise."

Alfeegi glared sullenly. "How can you be so sure?"

Ruwalk smiled, and pointed matter-of-factly. "Because someone's got a fire going off that way, and we should be there in about ten minutes."

Alfeegi stared at him. No single word could quite sum up what he was feeling right now, but perhaps two would do it - homicidal tendencies.

However, they both managed to make it to the source of the smoke alive. It wasn't quite what they were expecting, though.

Ruwalk gaped some more. Alfeegi was the first to speak. "A... hot spring?"

"How...?"

"Oh, come on; haven't you ever seen a hot spring before?"

"Of course I have!" said an indignant Ruwalk, who didn't get out much.

Alfeegi smiled. "Well, at least we won't be cold tonight. You can feel the heat from here."

Ruwalk managed to break out of his daze, and grinned. "Hey, let's go for a swim!"

Alfeegi sputtered mildly. "W-what?"

"You heard me!" he said cheerfully. He got off his drana without waiting for a response, and started tying it to a tree. "It'll thaw you out!"

He's doing this on purpose, Alfeegi realized suddenly. It was the only logical explanation. One way or another, Ruwalk was going to be the death of him. He opened his mouth to protest that he'd rather be eaten by a bear than go swimming right now, thank you very much, at which point Ruwalk started to strip off his outer layers of clothing.

Well. He didn't really know how he could argue, when he put it like that. He didn't know how to say much of anything at the moment, actually.

He was so busy being embarrassed as he got undressed and trying not to look at anything much that he didn't even notice that Ruwalk had come up to him, until he placed a warm hand on his chest. Shock. Panic. Melt. "Wow, I hadn't realized your scars were so bad," he commented; it took Alfeegi a moment to realize that he was referring to what the demon they'd met on the mainland had left him. Then Ruwalk laughed. "We match." Then, oblivious of the fact that Alfeegi was obviously on the verge of a nervous breakdown, he turned away and stared testing the water, muttering something like, 'ow, hot.'

Alfeegi made a vague choking noise.

Eventually they both got in. Ruwalk sighed contentedly, resting his arms on rocks at the edge of the pool. "Well, all I can say is I hope they have one of these up at the castle."

"Glub," Alfeegi said. He had submerged himself up to his nose and was trying very hard not to look in Ruwalk's direction. He was trying to behave himself, really...

Ruwalk glanced sideways at him. "Hey, don't be so bashful. We're both men here, right?"

Alfeegi gave a weak grin as he hauled himself upright, but inside he suddenly felt... extremely tired...

_Heh. What have I got to loose, right? Only everything, right?_

After a little while, Ruwalk spoke again. "Hey, can I tell you something?" he said sheepishly.

"Sure." Alfeegi watched the ripples on the surface of the water in a sort of disinterested way.

"I haven't told anyone else yet," he confessed. "I thought you ought to be the first to know." Alfeegi couldn't help but feel a bit flattered by that, though what Ruwalk said next made him blanch.

"I'm in love, you see."

WHAT! That was what he wanted to say. He wanted to scream. But instead he just stared. Of course he was in love. A nice guy like Ruwalk, it was amazing he didn't have a girlfriend already. Of course. It wasn't like it had really made him any more obtainable, anyway, just because he'd been free. Of course. This was the hardest thing in the world. "Who is she?" Alfeegi said, in the fakest cheerful tone the world had ever heard.

Ruwalk, ever appearing oblivious, smiled as if seeing the mystery girl in his mind's eye. "I can't tell you _that. _Not yet. But I really think I've found the 'one', you know? Is that just too horribly cheesy, or what? But she's just... just so..." He chuckled. "Well, she _does _have quite a temper sometimes. But she's really sweet underneath. She's cute, and intelligent, and - perfect."

Alfeegi nodded glumly. He could never live up to _that; _that was for sure. About the only similarity he could see to himself in there was the temper part.

Ruwalk eyed him thoughtfully. "Aren't you happy for me?"

"Oh... Of course! Good luck! I hope she likes you too!" His nails dug into his palms rather painfully. I hope she burns in hell... And the most pathetic part, he reflected, was that he felt ashamed for thinking that. But he supposed, really, anyone who could think like that deserved what he was getting... Maybe this would actually do him some good. Maybe, once he knew there was really _zero _chance for him, he could get over all this craziness any move on...

Ruwalk reached out and brushed away the tears he hadn't even realized he was crying. "Oh, I think she does like me," he said conversationally. "It's mostly just been little things... Like how she blushes every time she looks at me... She _did _kiss me when I was sleeping once, of course... But right now, I think I can finally say that I'm completely certain." And he kissed him.

It can be said to Alfeegi's credit that he only let it go on for a few moments before he pulled away, sputtering, and promptly slapped Ruwalk. He blinked several times in rapid succession. "You, you _jerk_!" he fumed. "You led me on!"

Ruwalk laughed nervously, fingering his cheek. "And here I thought you'd have gotten it from the part about the temper."

Alfeegi glared. "That's not funny! Do you mean to tell me you've just been playing stupid all this time, when you could have told me when I kissed you?"

Ruwalk smiled uncertainly. This was not exactly the reaction he was expecting. But come to think of it, this _was _Alfeegi; what _had _he been expecting? "I thought I might have dreamed it again," he confessed.

And while Alfeegi was still in a state of mild shock from the implications of the word 'again', Ruwalk stole another kiss. This one went on rather longer, but again Alfeegi pushed him away.

"I... Uh..." he floundered hopelessly, not even knowing exactly what it was he was trying to say. "What will the Lord say?" he finished lamely.

Ruwalk scoffed. "Do you _seriously _think he'd object? Lykouleon-sama understands about love."

"Yeah, but..." he managed. What was wrong with him? He should be overjoyed. Maybe he'd just told him one too many times how this was never going to happen, that he didn't deserve it...

He studied Ruwalk's expression for a moment, and realized to his acute surprise that Ruwalk might just feel the same way. And then he discovered that this _was _happening, and that he'd waited so long and angsted so much that _surely _he deserved it, and he kissed him. And this one lasted a very long time.


	6. Of Weddings

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**Epilogue: **Of Weddings

XooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooX

Finally, after several more-slowly-than-usual traveled days, they found a town. It was a same place, but not so small that no one knew which direction the capital was in (though there was some debate at first). It was discovered to be just a few days' travel away. It actually took them five, for some reason or another, but they made it.

It was a beautiful wedding. Rose petals and rice-flinging all around. Ruwalk's personal favorite part was the food afterwards, the wine in particular, but he tactfully avoided mentioning this to Alfeegi.

And afterwards they were given a room with a tub that had plumbing running from and underground hot spring. The bed was nice and big, too.

Late at night they lay together on said bed, talking quietly. Alfeegi sighed, snuggling closer. "It really was a beautiful wedding," he commented. He snuck a calculating look at Ruwalk out of the corner of his eye, and hurriedly looked away before he saw.

He also glanced at him. "You like weddings?" he said, in perfectly conversational tones.

"Yes." He smiled sweetly.

Ruwalk swallowed. "Have you ever thought about... you know... having one?" Alfeegi was totally silent. "I mean, it wouldn't have to be right away or anything," he added hurriedly. "Urk. I mean-"

The giggles Alfeegi had been trying to keep at bay finally overwhelmed him, and he had to spend a considerable amount of time kissing Ruwalk before they went away.

He pulled away, grinning immensely. "Of _course._" Ruwalk sighed in relief. Then Alfeegi looked a little thoughtful. "Though... Seriously now, what do you think the Lord will say?"

Ruwalk scoffed. "Don't be silly; I'm sure he'll love it. This is just the sort of thing he enjoys, you know; a good romance." He paused. It really was _exactly _the kind of thing his lordship liked, come to think of it. Could he...? No. Surely that was impossible.

Right?

Ruwalk ignored Alfeegi's questioning look, brushed the thought off, and kissed the other Officer. All thoughts of anything else left his mind...

And they lived happily ever after, in spite of Alfeegi's very scary temper.

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**A/N:** (cackle) Aw, kawaii! Well, at least I thought so anyway... (sparkle) My eighteenth story! Or was it my nineteenth...? O.O I've lost track! Argh! I guess I should check one of these days... So, did you like it? Did you think it sucked? Did it rock your socks so much that you'll go back and review every chapter please please please? Eh heh... Well, a girl can dream, can't she? Love-ya-all-but-not-in-a-creepy-way, and ja-ne!


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